December 31, 2010

Just a year end reminder that we accept donations from our website, and it's not too late to take advantage of this year's matching challenge fundraiser. Longtime shelter supporters will match every dollar raised -- up to $20K! There is a Donate button on our home page.

Longtime shelter resident Missy (she was given up in November 2005) will be grateful for your support.

December 15, 2010

Our cat that we are so blessed to have found at your shelter has turned out to be the most wonderful cat ever. Within 12 hours of her being at her new home she settled right in, slept with us on our bed, continues to eat well, plays and pays attention to us, visitors, as we do to her. We are still trying to decide on a name and try a new name everyday. Today it is Grace/Gracie. Actually she is most attentive to any name. The picture with the antlers tested her humor for sure, but the other picture shows her beautiful face.

December 8, 2010

Here is Harry (formerly Brendan), a poor terrified dog who was rescued after he was seen dodging cars on Route 128 in Needham. Harry was so terrified, that the guy who rescued him wasn't able to catch him the first time he tried, so he went to McDonald's and bought a hamburger and used that to win his trust. We were happy to help the Needham Animal Control Officer by taking Harry in at the shelter.

And here's the happily ever after part of our story.

Harry was adopted by a wonderful couple who have a lovely Golden Retriever that is now Harry's playmate. Harry spent the summer going to all sorts of fun places on his family's boat. His mom says Harry assumed right away that he belonged right next to his dad at the command center. It's hard to imagine how his dad was able to manage the boat before he had Harry's help.

December 5, 2010

For her 8th birthday, Jackie McDonald (she's the one holding the kitten) asked her friends to buy something for the animal shelter instead of buying a gift for her. We truly appreciate her generosity, as do the pets at the shelter that benefit from all the gifts Jackie's friends bought for them!

December 3, 2010

We depend on donations of food, cleaning supplies and cat litter to care for the shelter residents and would be very grateful for donations of any of the items from the list below. We are very fortunate to have more dog toys than we can store at the moment, and do not need more. Donations can be dropped off at the shelter.

November 21, 2010

New Matching Challenge Grant Announced To Benefit The Medfield Animal Shelter

The Medfield Animal Shelter is pleased to announce this year's matching challenge fundraiser. A group of longtime shelter supporters has once again offered to match every dollar that is donated to the Medfield Animal Shelter between December 1, 2010 and January 15, 2011 — up to $20,000! Previous matching challenge fundraisers have helped us raise a significant portion of our operating budget for the year, allowing our volunteers to spend more of their time caring for the pets.

The Medfield Animal Shelter’s goal is to help as many pets in need as we possibly can. Most of the cats we take in come to the Shelter after being surrendered by an owner or found as a stray.Most of the dogs we take in come to us from local Animal Control Officers and from overcrowded city shelters that would otherwise have to euthanize them. T he Shelter also sponsors a low cost spay/neuter clinic for cats once a month, and over 450 cats were neutered at the clinics in 2010. All of our work is possible because of our wonderful volunteers and generous supporters.

You can make your donation to this worthy cause go twice as far by making a donation to the Medfield Animal Shelter by January 15, 2011! Please include a note with your donation letting us know that your donation is for the Matching Challenge Grant. The Matching Challenge Grant is open to anyone wishing to support the Medfield Animal Shelter, so please spread the word and make a donation today!

The Medfield Animal Shelter is a no-kill shelter and every dog, cat and rabbit is spayed or neutered prior to being placed in a new home. The Animal Control Officers from both the towns of Dover and Medfield bring all of their stray pets to the Medfield Animal Shelter, and we take in pets in need from surrounding communities as space permits.

November 5, 2010

Sometimes it takes more than one try for a pet to find the right family, especially if they have special training needs or issues. Molly the Beagle was adopted from the shelter a year ago, but was returned last month due to house soiling issues. She is one of the cutest and sweetest Beagles we've ever met, and luckily caught the eye of an adopter willing to take a chance. We checked in with her new family this week, and found out she is doing great and has only had one accident so far!

Mickey was transferred from a large city shelter where he had little chance of being adopted. He's a young and adorable Cockapoo, but had clearly gotten his own way and was not pleased to find out he was no longer in charge. He was adopted quickly, but returned a few weeks later when the family realized they just weren't experienced enough to handle the training he needed. Our volunteers jumped in to make the most of his time at the shelter by teaching him he needed to sit calmly and quietly before he was fed or walked, as well as teaching him basic commands. He has now found a new home, and we are very optimistic that it will be his forever home. That's him heading off to his new life with is mom and dad!

October 22, 2010

There is a photo album from the dog adoption/puppy mill awareness day the shelter hosted in September posted on the secretaryofinnovation blog written by Bessie and Claude DiDomenica. Claude learned about the Shelter's event when he saw a sign for it while cycling through Medfield. He was kind enough to post an announcement about it the blog.

October 12, 2010

Second Chance Animal Shelter, located in East Brookfield, will be attempting to establish a world record for the highest number of rabies vaccinations given in a single day. Save the date for a rabies vaccination for your cat or dog! Vaccines will be given at a cost of $5.00 each. Dogs must be on leash and cats in carriers.

Second Chance’s goal is to protect pets against rabies. By law and as a matter of public safety, cats and dogs must be up-to-date with their rabies vaccinations. For more information, go towww.secondchanceanimals.org.

For her 8th birthday, Charlotte asked her friends to bring donations to help the pets at the shelter instead of birthday gifts. Charlotte and her sister, Emily, came by the shelter to drop off the donations and visit with the animals. The girls live in Walpole and we think their parents must be awfully proud of them for being so generous.

September 13, 2010

Happy (formerly Dickenson) is living up to his name by not only being happy, but also making those around him happy. This past weekend he celebrated grandparents day by visiting his owner's mother at the nursing home. His family reports that he's sweet, smart, affectionate, and incredibly cute.

September 1, 2010

Please join the Medfield Animal Shelter at beautiful Rocky Woods Reservation on Hartford Street in Medfield, MA on Saturday, September 18th from 11 am- 1 pm for our 3rd annual Rescue Dog / Puppy Mill Awareness Day event. This fun and informative event is part of a national educational campaign to highlight the many nice dogs in need of adoption. Volunteers will be on hand to provide information about how to adopt the right dog for your family, and representatives from local rescue groups will be there with some of the adoptable dogs in their care.There will be lots of activities for the kids, fun raffles, a dog talent contest (all dogs are welcome to participate and prizes will be awarded) and an exciting silent auction including Boston Red Sox memorabilia, a week's stay at a pet-friendly cottage on the Cape, and some nice wines donated by Bullards Market in Medfield. All proceeds from the event will be put used to fund the Shelter's ongoing mission of helping homeless animals. Admission is free. Friendly dogs on leash are welcome to participate in the event with their owners. If you are considering buying a puppy, we hope you will stop by our informative booth about puppy mills. Can you imagine forcing your family dog to live his or her entire life in a tiny wire cage with no protection from the elements, no vet care and no human contact? That is what life is like for a puppy mill breeding dog. Help us stop the cycle of cruelty that contributes to pet overpopulation and the suffering of countless dogs by learning how to avoid buying a puppy bred in a puppy mill. We hope to see you and your dog on September 18th! For directions to Rocky Woods, click here

June 29, 2010

It looks like Russell had no problem adjusting to life as a beloved family pet! His new family said they love him and also noted he is the first cat they have ever had that sleeps on his back. Yay for Russell!

June 9, 2010

We took Carly in from a large city shelter in Boston where she had been overlooked simply because they had so many cats there. In her 8 months at that shelter her weight had ballooned from 7 lbs. to 14lbs. from sitting in a cage all day with nothing to do but eat. She settled right in to our cage-free cat room and once again waited patiently for a home. Luckily after she was featured in the Hometown Weekly, she caught the eye of a nice family and was soon adopted. They sent us photos of her today letting us know they love her and that she is a great cat. These are the updates that make all the work our volunteers do to care for the animals (it is a lot more cleaning and laundry than most people imagine)all worth it.

May 25, 2010

Scruffy (formerly Felix) settled right into his new home as you can see from these photos. His family took our request for updates and photos seriously (we love that) and sent photos of him the day after he moved in looking as if he had lived there all his life. He even slept in bed with his new parents the first night!

May 9, 2010

Dover Animal Control picked up this senior dog with some obvious health issues yesterday morning after she was found wandering on a fairly busy road. Although she was safe and well cared for at the shelter, we were all angst-ridden knowing she needed her family and they must be frantically looking for her.

Fortunately, Ciccolina's story has a very happy ending and she is back home! It turns our that she bolted from her home during yesterday's early morning thunderstorm, and even though she was picked up by Dover Animal Control a few hours later, when her family repeatedly called the Dover police trying to locate her, they were told no dogs had been picked up. They spent the entire day searching the woods for her and feared the worst had happened, since they thought she would be a likely target for predators given her frail condition.

Desperate to locate her family, we decided to e-mail her photo to many of our Shelter volunteers on Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. and ask them to forward it to anyone they knew in Needham, Dover and Westwood that might be able to help us identify her. Much to our delight one of the people that received the e-mail works at a vet hospital in Needham and instantly recognized Ciccolina! Her family was notified very late last night that she was safe and sound, and they came to retrieve her first thing this morning! The Shelter volunteer who was there for the reunion said Cicci was thrilled to see her parents and happily left wagging her tail the whole time. Ciccolina is 15 years old and needs medication, so we are very happy to have her back where she belongs.

April 25, 2010

Brendan, now named Harry, was adopted the other day and we already received the nicest update on him. Sounds like he is going to have a very fun summer!

We wanted you both to know that Harry is already a joyful addition to the household - we feel so lucky to have found him! He has charmed everyone he meets, and he's met a bunch of people in these last few days!

He starts each day with a happy dance and a wagging tail.....he is friendly, mellow, playful, and shows an ability to learn. We are working on "Come", which remains a challenge. His genetic makeup is always a source of interest to those who meet him; suggestions tend to fall in the schnauzer/poodle category. I like the fact that he'll always be an original....

Here is a photo taken today, when we all went down to our marina in Fairhaven - Harry checked out the boat on which he'll spend much of the summer season with his new companion, Daisy. He will be visiting the Vineyard, Block Island, and the Elizabeth Islands nearly every weekend. Lucky dog!

Thanks to both of you, for keeping Harry safe and making him available to us - and for the good work you do.

April 22, 2010

We often host groups of kids interested in helping animals, and the pets at the shelter truly enjoy the company. Last week a troop of Brownies came for a visit and Cooper the Beagle enjoyed having his picture taken with them. Yesterday a group of 2nd graders came for a visit and Abby the Jack Russell was thrilled to have so many laps to sit in. Both groups collected donations of supplies, and the Brownies made some very fun fleece dog toys that are canine friends are enjoying.

April 18, 2010

This has been a busy weekend with four new cats, a new bunny and a little Jack Russell Terrier all arriving at the shelter. We feel fortunate to have space for the new crew, thanks to a few successful adoption weeks. It is always great when longtime supporters and volunteers send their family and friends our way when they mention they are interested in adopting a pet.

April 8, 2010

This poor little guy was found running loose on Route 128 in Needham on Easter Sunday wearing no collar and having no other ID. He is about 30 lbs. and is very friendly, although he is quite nervous at the animal hospital where he is being held for 10 days to give his family a chance to claim him. If he looks familiar to you, or you have seen a lost dog flyer for him, please contact us. He will be coming to the Medfield Shelter on Tuesday April 13 if he isn't claimed by an owner. We think he is young (1 or 2 years old). The Animal Control Officer that rescued him said he acted like he had died and gone to heaven when she took him on a long walk. She named him Brendan.

April 6, 2010

We took in two new adorable dogs today. Petey ( 1 - 2 year old Sheltie mix) and Cooper ( 5 year old Beagle) came to us from a much bigger shelter in Springfield. They are already great pals and are both sweet and gentle dogs.

March 24, 2010

Wow, Medfield Brownie Troop #7487 collected donations for the shelter and boy did they do a great job! They came by for a visit and to drop off the donations yesterday, and they filled our lobby. They brought us all of our most needed items including tons of canned cat and dog food, laundry detergent, cat litter, garbage bags, sponges and much, much more. We are so grateful to this generous and hard-working group of girls. There is not a day that goes by that we don't feel grateful to live in such a generous community.

March 18, 2010

On April 30, 2010, the Postal Service™ will issue a 44–cent, Animal Rescue: Adopt a Shelter Pet special stamp in ten designs, designed by Derry Noyes of Washington, DC.

With these 10 stamp designs, the U.S. Postal Service hopes to raise awareness of the need to adopt shelter pets. The pets depicted on the stamps were photographed by Sally Andersen-Bruce near her home in New Milford, Connecticut. All had been homeless at one time; all but one had been adopted when they were photographed.

March 8, 2010

We heard from Lucky the Corgi's family today and received some adorable photos of him. Sounds like he is indeed Lucky, according to this nice note:

Lucky rocks! He gets along really well with our 8-year old Hovawart and is much better with the cats than she is. He’s very funny, loves to sleep on the sofa, to go for walks in the woods and is the cutest dog on the planet (according to my husband who is completely smitten with Lucky).
He’s a great addition to our family, we’re lucky to have him.

The Medfield Animal Shelter will be hosting a rabies vaccination clinic on Saturday, April 3rd at the Shelter. The rabies clinic is open to all pet owners and the cost is $10 per pet. To receive a three year vaccination you must bring your certificate of last rabies vaccination, or the vaccination will only be good for one year. Dr. Heather Cochran, DVM, from Main Street Veterinary Hospital in Millis will be vaccinating cats from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and dogs from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. All dogs must be leashed and cats must be in carriers.

March 5, 2010

We took in a yellow Lab mix, Barry, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Mabel, and a Great Pyrenees mix, Anastasia, who looks like a Golden Retriever. They are a fun and friendly bunch and get along well together, so they are planning to enjoy this weekend's sunny weather out in our doggie play yard.

February 16, 2010

Taco was adopted from our shelter back in August. He and his owner are in Florida for the winter, and that is where Taco made his life-saving rescue. A friend of his owner was devastated when her cat got out of the house. She and her friends spent days searching for him and had given up hope of finding him. Taco was visiting one day 3 weeks after the cat disappeared, and wouldn't stop pawing at a drawer in their spare room. They told him to stop several times, but he would keep going right back to the drawer. When they finally opened the drawer and looked inside, they found their missing kitty! He was very dehydrated, but alive. What a good dog!

February 12, 2010

We are sharing news, photos and adoption stories on our Facebook page. Did you adopt a pet from the Medfield Animal Shelter? We'd love to see photos. Want to see who is new? We post photos on an almost daily basis. Become a fan of the Medfield Shelter and you will see our Facebook posts in your news stream. Join the fun!

February 8, 2010

One of our volunteer dog walkers took Chloe out for a 2 hour hike with her very well-socialized dogs yesterday. Chloe was nervous in the car but had a great time and came back exhausted. Chloe is a very smart, sweet, affectionate and playful dog that had a rough start. We are fairly certain her first owner was abusive, since she and her canine sibling were both very reactive to one of our male volunteers. Her brother found the perfect home that has let him acclimate at his own pace while also socializing him at the dog park and taking him to many new places. We are hoping to find a similar home for Chloe. We've just enrolled Chloe in an obedience class at Alpha Dog K9 Training and if she is adopted before the class ends we will have her new family attend the classes.

January 19, 2010

We took in two new dogs at the shelter today. Star was transferred from Save a Dog, because they needed space to help out a shelter in WV that just lost 50 cats and 13 dogs in a devastating fire. She's a really fun and playful Lab mix. Betsy came to us from the Norwood shelter. She was there for 6 months and surprisingly, no one adopted her. It is hard to believe such a cute dog was overlooked. She is very affectionate, sweet and energetic. If you know anyone that would be interested in either dog, please send them our way.